Catholic Crisis

Whatever the ramifications of this most recent sex abuse scandal end up being, there might be some hope in it all.
I disagree with Catholics on a lot of theological issues. Maureen Dowd mentions several of them here. And this new Pope has seemed sketchy fromt the start.
That said, these theological quibbles are nowhere near enough to merit condemnation of the whole church. Critics of Catholocism, in their haste to get to the juicy bits, tend to forget the staggering amount of good the Church has done in modern times. And they often make the regrettable mistake of pressing the sins of church hierarchs onto everybody practicing the religion.
I have a great deal of respect for Catholics, even if I disagree theologically with some of their tenets. These crises are more a problem with their leaders then with the faithful at large.
That said, Catholics do need to stand up and be intentional and loud about reform. The Pope's position is far too sacrosanct in current doctrine -- this most recent scandal is damning evidence.
Andrew Sullivan is a good example. He's a Catholic, but he's also willing to criticize the Church when it does something he thinks is wrong.